Broadband systems are being developed and implemented. Broadband systems provide telecommunications providers with many benefits, including greater bandwidth, more efficient use of bandwidth, and the ability to integrate voice, data, and video communications. These broadband systems provide callers with increased capabilities at lower costs.
Techniques are used to transport calls in an efficient manner. Many of these techniques are encoding techniques that use compression methods to lower the bit rate at which the call is transported, in addition to encryption methods to secure calls.
A compact representation of the call that results in a lower bit rate can be considered to be a compressed call. Compression is achieved by removing redundant bits or bits that do not change in successive sampling intervals. Compression saves transmission time or capacity. Thus, a greater amount of information may be transported in a compressed-state over a selected connection or any other defined bandwidth.
In addition, encryption techniques are used to secure calls. Encryption is the transformation of information into a form that is unreadable unless it is decrypted. The purpose of encryption is to keep the information hidden from anyone for whom it is not intended.
There is a need for a system that more efficiently and securely transports a call through an asynchronous transfer mode system. There is a need for a system that efficiently compresses, encrypts, or other wise processes a call having a voiceband signal payload, and provides a mechanism to indicate when the call is compressed, encrypted, or otherwise processed. The system of the present invention fills that need.